Wiktionary(3.72 / 7 votes)Rate this definition:

The branch of computer science dealing with the reproduction or mimicking of human-level thought in computers.

artificial intelligence(Noun)

The essential quality of a machine which thinks in a manner similar to or on the same general level as a human being.

artificial intelligence(Noun)

a computer system or software package which is artificially intelligent

Freebase(4.00 / 9 votes)Rate this definition:

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is technology and a branch of computer science that studies and develops intelligent machines and software. Major AI researchers and textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents", where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chances of success. John McCarthy, who coined the term in 1955, defines it as "the science and engineering of making intelligent machines".
AI research is highly technical and specialised, deeply divided into subfields that often fail to communicate with each other. Some of the division is due to social and cultural factors: subfields have grown up around particular institutions and the work of individual researchers. AI research is also divided by several technical issues. There are subfields which are focused on the solution of specific problems, on one of several possible approaches, on the use of widely differing tools and towards the accomplishment of particular applications.
The central problems of AI research include reasoning, knowledge, planning, learning, communication, perception and the ability to move and manipulate objects. General intelligence is still among the field's long term goals. Currently popular approaches include statistical methods, computational intelligence and traditional symbolic AI. There are an enormous number of tools used in AI, including versions of search and mathematical optimization, logic, methods based on probability and economics, and many others.

U.S. National Library of Medicine(4.75 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

Artificial Intelligence

The study and implementation of techniques and methods for designing computer systems to perform functions normally associated with human intelligence, such as understanding language, learning, reasoning, problem solving, etc.